Hundreds partake in Alzheimer's walk in Liberty State Park

Hundreds partook in the Alzheimer's Association Walk to End Alzheimer's held this morning at Liberty State Park.Rafal Rogoza/The Jersey Journal

A line of walkers dressed in purple t-shirts could be seen stretching for miles along Liberty State Park’s waterfront paths this morning as hundreds converged on the Jersey City park for the Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s.

“This is really about the bringing together of a community of people who are effected by this disease,” said Laura Holly-Dierbach, Vice-President of Programs and Service of the Greater New Jersey Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.

Holly-Dierbach was one of many organizers, volunteers, and family members who around 8 a.m. assembled at the park’s north cove and made the 3-mile walk circling the park’s waterfront fields to raise awareness and researching funding to fight Alzheimer’s.

This was the first of several upcoming walks organized by Greater New Jersey to raise over a million dollars to fund research, education, and support efforts for families and those diagnosed with the disease.

Five million people suffer from the memory impairing disease across the country, 350,000 of them live in New Jersey. With no prevention, intervention, and cure available organizers of today’s walk say the numbers of those diagnosed with the disease are expected to grow as people live longer.

“People need to understand this is an epidemic,” said Philip Hunrath, board chairman of the Greater New Jersey Chapter.

Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in the country and the most expensive chronic health disease, organizers said.

“The financial impact can be pretty overwhelming,” said Hunrath, adding “We have to look at this disease as an economic problem for our country.”

In the late 1970s, Hunrath’s mother came down with Alzheimer‘s, a moment in his life that he described as “devastating.”

“The worst thing that happened to me was when I walked in and she looked at me and said who are you,” he said, while sharing memories of the emotional distress that many who took part in the walk can relate to.

Sisters Brenda and Zulma Gonzalez lost their mother, Monserrate, two-years ago. She died at the age of 67 after living with Alzheimer’s for ten-years.

“It makes you feel helpless. You want to do more but you can’t,” said Brenda, 38, referring to how she tried to support her mother through her struggles.

“Knowing that she doesn’t recognize her kids…it was very frustrating seeing that,’ said Zulma, who along with Brenda and her four daughters made the trip from Newark.

For more information about upcoming walks and additional general information visit alz.org/nj/walk or call 1-800-272-3900.